Any piece of article presented by students that is not originally theirs is termed as plagiarism. This is an academic offense that is never allowed in any academic institution, and in case of its occurrence the students said to have practiced it faces very tough penalties; to some extend, the institutions terminates their relationship with the culprits. There are various ways in which students can be prevented from submitting materials that are not of their own for academic credit.
One of the ways is to advice them to always cite the sources used in the publication. Citing the sources provides the readers with the information necessary to find the source as well as acknowledging that, the material has been borrowed. Another way to prevent students from submitting plagiarized work is by advising them to organize their work in an original order. Trying to mimic someone else’s format or pattern of argument will most likely lead to use of his or her original material.
The third way that every student should be aware of so as to avoid plagiarism is by proofreading and editing their work. Usually, careful reading of both your materials and your sources will give you an idea of whether the idea or argument put forward is entirely your own. In case of any similarities in both works, then it is only moral to cite the sources of your work discretely using footnotes and clear referencing.
The fourth way in which plagiarism can be avoided in an academic setting is by managing your time appropriately. In most cases, students opt for the last minute rush. This is very dangerous as one will not have sufficient time to plan his/her research well, hence chances of submitting materials that are not originally yours are quite high. The fifth way in which students can be taught on how to avoid submitting plagiarized work is by cautioning them on reading their classmates work for inspiration. This is because in most cases you may end up giving arguments that are exactly the same as your classmates, which he/she happens to have presented before. It is also very recommendable that, tutors should encourage students to always check plagiarism by use of the available online tools. This is very important as the student gets to see the content he/she might have plagiarized in order to correct it so as to submit very original work.
In most cases, students who submit work that is not originally written on their own do so as a result of cutting and pasting what they read from a given source. So, the seventh way in which I may advice students to avoid so as not to submit materials that are not originally theirs is cut and paste. This is very serious offence as with no doubt it will reflect the source it has been taken from if the written article is passed through plagiarism check software.
Since plagiarism is a vice that is widespread not only in the academic field but also in the professional world, it will require the collaboration of all stake holders to fight its spread, for example, tutors on their part should avoid recycling assignments to avoid plagiarized responses from the students. The ninth way in which students can be prevented from submitting plagiarized work is by always consulting your instructor whenever in doubt. Through this the student gets to learn perfect ways of documenting his/her sources perfectly.
The last but important way of avoiding plagiarism is by advising the students to keep source trail. This is essential as it helps you in monitoring the precincts between your writing and your sources.